Finding Aid for the
SCHENECTADY FEDERATION OF TEACHERS,
LOCAL 803, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERSRecords, 1918-1934, 1937-1989
(APAP-036)

M. E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives
University Libraries / University at Albany / State University of New York
1400 Washington Avenue / Albany, New York 12222 / (518) 437-3935

VOLUME: 6 reels of microfilm

ACQUISITION: All items in this manuscript group were lent
to the University Libraries, M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, by the Schenectady Federation of Teachers, AFT
Local 803, and subsequently microfilmed as a part of the Harry Van Arsdale,
Jr., Labor History Project. The originals have been returned to the Schenectady
Federation of Teachers.

ACCESS: Access to this record group is unrestricted.

COPYRIGHT: The researcher assumes full responsibility for
conforming with the laws of copyright. Whenever
possible, the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives
will provide information about copyright owners and other restrictions, but
the legal determination ultimately rests with the researcher. Requests for permission
to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the Head
of Special Collections and Archives.

Schenectady Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 803
Administrative History

The first association of teachers in Schenectady, N.Y., was the Schenectady
branch of the New York State Teachers' Association. Although the date
of formation for that organization cannot be determined, it was defunct by 1918.
[1] On January 17, 1918, teachers in Schenectady,
N.Y., met to organize the City Teachers' Association of Schenectady, which would
represent all professionals in the city's department of education. The
initial impetus for the formation of the association appears to be improving
teachers' salaries, though the association was also probably formed to replace
the city branch of the State Teachers Association. [2]
By 1932 the association was affiliated with the National Education Association
(NEA). [3]

Teachers in Schenectady assumed heavier schedules during the great depression
to help lighten the city's budget, but these schedules continued into the mid-1940s.
[4] During World War II, the salaries of teachers
in the Schenectady school district did not rise with the rise in the cost of
living. From 1941 to 1944, all city employees with the exception of teachers
were given annual $100 cost of living adjustments. In 1943 the City Teachers'
Association began asking its members for ideas on how to remedy this problem,
and one of the solutions was the formation of a union. The teachers considered
affiliation with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and after sufficient
members signed up as prospective members, the Schenectady Federation of Teachers,
AFT Local 803 was formed. [5]

One of the earliest dilemmas, besides pay raises and reduction of work loads,
for the Schenectady Federation of Teachers (SFT) was merit rating (or merit
pay) which was instituted by the Schenectady Board of Education in 1948.
The Schenectady system of merit rating consisted of 15 preliminary and automatic
steps coinciding with increments in pay. However, to reach Step 16, a
teacher had to undergo the official merit rating process. Twenty-seven
of the teachers who went through the rating process were not granted promotions
in the 1950/51 school year. This prompted SFT to decry the inequities
in the system, including the subjectivity of raters' decisions and the lack
of sufficient or in-depth evaluation. By the early part of 1952 and after
pressure from SFT, the Schenectady Board of Education had abolished merit rating.
[6]

Early in 1967, SFT welcomed the appearance of a Schenectady Teachers Association
(STA) newsletter in teachers' mailboxes. The STA, affiliated with the
New York State Teachers Association (NYSTA) and the National Education Association
(NEA), was apparently not yet viewed as a competitor. [7]
Soon after, both STA and SFT were supporting petitions calling for an election
to choose between them for the exclusive bargaining rights to Schenectady's
teachers [8], and by September of that year STA had already
won the right to represent teachers in Schenectady. [9]
One reason for STA's success was probably a feeling among some teachers that
SFT was not a professional organization and that it was too closely allied with
labor. During 1972, the Public Employee Relations Board held another election
to determine representation for the employees of the Schenectady City School
District. [10] SFT was the overwhelming winner in
the election. [11] Ironically, in 1972 New York State
Teachers Association (NYSTA, affiliated with NEA) and United Teachers of New
York (UTNY, affiliated with AFT, AFL-CIO) merged to form New York State United
Teachers (NYSUT), thereby making all organized teachers in the state members
of both AFT and NEA. [11]

Since its inception, the Schenectady Federation of Teachers has been opposed
to the use of strikes in resolving disputes, but the local has also recognized
that strikes might be the only way to solve some problems. In September
1975, SFT went on strike after being unable to negotiate a contract over the
issue of class size. [12] The strike lasted 14 days
and resulted in SFT's winning its negotiating point. Since strikes by
public employees are illegal under New York State's Taylor Law, a number of
the members (including the president) of SFT were prosecuted and sentenced to
short jail terms. [13]

The 1975 strike (which coincided with a number of other teacher strikes in
the Capital Region) was one small incident that brought out animosities in New
York between NEA (which viewed itself as a professional organization) and NYSUT
(which had continued to view itself as a labor organization of education professionals).
[14] A major disagreement between NEA and NYSUT was
that NEA required all locals to be represented by the same percentage of ethnic
and racial minorities as existed in the state's population. NYSUT argued
that this goal simply was not possible in many of its locals. [15]
By July 1976, SFT had voted to disaffiliate with NEA. [16]

The 1980's have been spared the drama of strikes and disaffiliation,
but the Schenectady Federation of Teachers continues to try to ensure that
teachers are involved in decision making in the city school district.
An example is SFT's desire to have a voice in the plans to reorganize the
Schenectady city schools which were discussed from 1987 to 1990.
The local has also continued to add to its ranks segments of the school
district work force that it considers appropriate to its jurisdiction,
such as teachers in the Living Center and the ESL (English as a Second
Language) tutors. [17]------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes

Although the records of the Schenectady Federation of Teachers contain
a complete set of minutes from 1944 (and minutes for its predecessor organization
from 1918-1934), the most useful records for studying the history and opinions
of the local are its newsletters and subject files. The newsletters
are an almost complete record of what SFT told its rank and file members.
Since these members would not otherwise know the whole story of what was
happening at any given point, the newsletters are usually clear about incidents,
reactions and decisions concerning SFT. Minutes, written mostly by
and for the officers of the local, are therefore often cryptic to the outsider
and do not divulge as much information as do the newsletters.

The records of the Schenectady Federation of Teachers show how labor
union activism grew out of the definite needs of teachers in Schenectady.
Major issues confronting the union were teachers' salaries and workloads
(especially 1927-44); merit pay (1948-52); and school reorganization (1987-90).
For related records see those of the Schenectady Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO,
and IUE Local 301, which contain some information about support they gave
SFT (especially during the 1975 strike).

Schenectady Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 803
Series Descriptions

These records of the City Teachers' Association of Schenectady include minutes
(1918-34), and general files (1937-43) which contain bulletins, correspondence
and other records. Also included in these records are the minutes of the Delegate
Assembly of the Department of Public Instruction of Schenectady (1928-31), which
was a body consisting of members from the faculty, staff and supervisory personnel
of the Schenectady City School District.

Subseries 1: Minutes, 1944-89, 2.5 reels of microfilm
Arranged chronologically.
Most of the minutes of SFT meetings are interfiled: regular, executive committee and building directors' meeting filed together chronologically. Regular meetings are
uncommon, usually consisting of an annual meeting at the beginning of the school year. After 1979, the minutes are separated first by type of meeting and then
chronologically.

Subseries 3: Newsletters, 1956-60, 1962-89, 1 reel of microfilm,
Arranged chronologically.
Includes the general newsletter of SFT and occasional specialized newsletters, bulletins, and flyers. These extras include circa B. News and circa B. Views (1967-68), which
announced the activities of the Collective Bargaining Committee. Strike bulletins (1975) are filed in the subject files.

Schenectady Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 803
Box and Folder List

General Files, 1937-43
General Files, 1940-43
Minutes of City Teacher's Association of Schenectady, 1918-24
Minutes of City Teacher's Association of Schenectady, 1924-34
Minutes of Delegate Assembly of the Department of Public Instruction
of Schenectady, 1928-31
Newspaper Clippings, 1933